Seekers of The Forgotten Land
by xXAccaliaXx
Summary: This is an original story by me, I know this is fan-fiction...but ya. In a lands there lives kids with their own powers and can turn into cats. Some powers are rarer than others, but some kids, like Shinto, can't be trusted...
1. Chapter 1

Coldness gripped the city and the forest like an icy claw, snow had covered everything, leaving some streets and ponds frozen solid. A strip of gray light gleamed above the horizon, making it possible to see. Nothing broke the morning silence except for the occasional breeze that rustled the trees. Shinto peered out from under the covers of his bed, in the summer time he would jump straight up and make breakfast, but on a chilly winter day like today, he would do no such thing. Shinto sighed and then dug deeper into the covers where warmth would be waiting for him.  
"What am I doing in this form...my black fur would keep my twice as warm..." In a blink of an eye blue light flared, and a black fluffy tail stuck out from the blankets. There was a knock at the door, it was soft, clearly not a grown up's strength. Shinto poked his head out from under the covers and slid down to the floor. He recoiled in discomfort, the rug he had placed was as cold as ice, even with fur it chilled him right to the bone.  
There was a knock again.  
"I'm coming I'm coming!" Shinto moaned. Again the light sparkled and he was back to human again. When he opened the door he found a little girl standing there, her green eyes sparkling.  
She was dressed in a heavy orange coat and sweat jeans, with pink mittens and green earmuffs on.  
"Would you like to buy some ice cream?" She exclaimed, bouncing up and down. Shinto glared at her, who would sell ice cream now, in the middle of winter?  
"Uh h...no thanks.." He sputtered, rubbing his neck awkwardly. The girl abruptly broke out in tears, and dropped her box, ice cream sandwiches flew in every direction.  
"" Shinto slapped his hands onto his ears. He was a seeker, not a kid who took care of kids selling ice cream in the wrong season. A seeker belonged to the dark lands. They scavenged the light and dim lands, but also kept a watch on their own town for suspicious kids who might be seekers like him. There were other jobs, but he wasn't experienced enough yet. Such as night hunter, a job belonging to cats who could blend into the darkness like a second pelt. Or a day hunter, who would still spy in broad daylight with a dark colored pelt. The little girl only wailed louder.  
"Hey... um..I have..." He looked around quickly for something, anything that could save his hearing. "Ice cream!"  
The girl jerked her head up and smiled.  
"Thank you mister!" She giggled, and then ran away like nothing ever happened. His amber gaze stared after her.  
"Who in the world let her go around like this selling ice-" He glanced down at the floor.  
"Let her go around and hand out free ice cream to a kid like me?" Shinto nodded, then gathered up a scattered ice cream and quickly put them in his freezer. He laid back down, thinking about last night.  
"Ochtia...I still wonder about you..." Ochtia belonged to the Dim Lands, an enemy of the Dark lands. However he felt a close bond with him somehow, something that shouldn't be there. According to the city elders, each kid had a special talent or knack that they were born with. Their talent would defend their land, and maybe even their lives one day. His father had told him again and again that he would have a special place in his land. Again there was a knock at the door.  
"What the heck do you want at this hour!" He sighed. Warily getting up her walked to the door and opened it, there stood his worst nightmare, the city elder.  
"Shinto come with me, now." He said smoothly. Shinto glared at him, if the city elder came to our door then something was definitely wrong.  
"Why..."  
"Just come with me."  
"I have my rights!"  
"You won't anymore."  
"Look, I know I broke the waffle machine a couple days back but it was an accident and I'll pay for it!"  
"I'm not talking about a waffle-"  
"Ok, so I took Jenny's pen during lunch but Ill return it!"  
"Shinto Draken you are under arrest by order of the council of the Dark Lands!" The elder declared. Shinto stared at him, he had done nothing wrong, except broken a waffle machine and stolen a pen, he was innocent!  
"Come with me now!" Shinto ducked from his swipe and dove through his legs and pelted away, transforming into a cat he jumped down the fire escape. But a dark brown tabby streaked after him. He turned quickly into an ally, jumped onto a trash can and sprung over a wall. But the old dude was still after him, he sprinted down the building towards Black River and swiped to the edge. There was no place else to go.  
"Ah ha! Just give up!" The cat croaked. Shinto hesitated, then dove into the murky water...


	2. Chapter 2

The rough water heaved around him, pulling him down and flipping him violently so that he couldn't tell which was was which. Shinto carefully opened his eyes, there was no use in trying to look, the river had earned it's name well. Black River was so dark that even at noon you couldn't see the bottom even if you tried. He thrashed his paws around violently, it was no use anyway, the currents were to strong. He raised his head, hoping to see the sun, but was only greeted by what seemed like a starless night sky. His throat begged for air, he couldn't even swim in one direction without being hurled into opposite way he wanted to go.  
He was done for...  
Allowing his body to be carried away, he noticed the river wasn't as strong. The water only went one way, he lifted his head and flailed again. The current became much stronger, then it hit him. If he trusted the currents, he could get to shallower waters. Praying that his muscles would with-stand no air, he fell limp once more. In little to no time he could feel the bottom, and stood up. Shinto gasped for air, gagging on the tar-colored water he dragged himself father up shore, then collapsed. With what little strength he had, Shinto transformed back into a human. He was completely dry, a good sign that his power still worked. Still, he felt like he had just ran a 100k marathon. Carefully straining his neck towards the sky he could see it was about 9:00 AM. The ground beneath him was soft, clearly sand because of the warmth radiating from it.  
"Well I see you escape was futile wasn't it?" A voice chuckled. Horror flooded over Shinto, it was the grouchy old man that had chased him into the river. He felt handcuffs snap onto his exhausted hands. Two men dressed in black suits picked him up. There was no possible way he could escape now, he was to burned out to even struggle. The two strong men tossed him into the back of a truck. Shinto's face collided with the cold metal, it stung with the furry of a bumblebee. The drive was a long 10 minutes, and around the 7 minute mark the truck jerked up ward, the next moment Shinto could feel a wet stick liquid coming from his cheek. His body ached, he was tired, wounded, and hungry. How could this day be worse?  
Oh ya, it gets much worse.  
When the truck stopped the men picked him up, the red blood dripped down his face, staining the white hood of his jacket. Before he knew it he was sitting in the hall of the Dark Lands city hall. Just the hallway alone was amazing, the walls were painted a royal purple with pictures of who knows what. The ceiling was a mosaic of a shadowy person, with a black cat at his side. Her recognized it almost right away. The man was called Waru, who founded the Dark Lands. His cat form was so powerful that no regular human could look at it. Waru had founded the Dark Lands, with the help of his brother and sister. The floor was a bright violet, with designs so complex that it must have taken at least 5 years to even complete. Shinto watched people walk by for about two hours, some were very rich men with fine leather purple coats. Others were police men with seekers from other lands or just regular criminals. Some school girls walked by, probably learning about how to be a Office Messenger. Office Messengers were people who were quick and nimble on their feet and could deliever messages in a blink of an eye. After the time was up, the two men came back.  
"Where are you taking me!"  
"To court, your judge is waiting for you." One of them told him harshly. Then he walked with them uneasily, then walked into a room with atleast 2,000 people in it...and a judge glaring at him...something was definitely wrong.


	3. Chapter 3

(Changing to 1st person point of view because it SO EASIER to write with X3)

As I walked into the court room I noticed that this wasn't a regular court case. At grammar school we had taken a field trip to the City Hall and watched a Seeker trial. The court had run smoothly, a lawyer questioned the seeker, then spoke to the judge and a jury. After a little bit more questioning the judge had gone away for maybe 20 minutes or so. Then he came back, declared the seeker guilty and then left. That seeker, I never saw again. As I walked down towards the front of the room the blood pooled from the cut, my hood was turning a bright red, making me feeling even more uncomfortable. People from the audience stared at me as I walked past, but the creepy thing was that they weren't just looking at me in general. My amber eyes were burning with terror, one, the people were starring into my gaze, two, I have no clue why I'm here. When I got to the front of the room the judge looked me in the eye.  
" , do you know why your here today?" He asked. His voice was almost like mine, and he was clearly maybe only five years older than me, maybe six.  
"Because I broke a waffle maker?" I guessed. The audience broke out in laughter. I blinked, I was so confused, and bewildered it wasn't even funny...  
"I believe your here because of something that you have inherited..." The judge sot. I felt like something broke inside of me, when ever my ancestors were mentioned I got angry, and I don't know quite why. Three nights ago on my last missions in the Dim Lands when I had met Ochtia I pointed out that I wasn't responsible for some dead people's actions. He agreed with me, and thats most likely the only reason he got away.  
"I'm not responsible for what my past family members did..." I muttered. The judge raised his eyebrow and took off his glasses.  
"You inherited a power like no one before you Draken, thats what we're here to discuss..." He told me smoothly. I blinked in surprise, my father had often bragged about me having a power, but I never got the chance to ask him what it was before he died.  
"Discuss exactly what?"  
"What we're going to do with you." He chuckled. I frowned, the I didn't like the way he was talking. He picked up several papers and then showed them to me.  
"Have you ever heard of the Red Spirit Shinto?" The Judge asked me. I shook my head, but a girl about my age jumped up from the audience.  
"I do your honor!" I turned my head to look at her. She had brown hair, a lot like Ochtia's. She ran up to the front and stood next to me. Little did I know that I would start a life-long partnership with her...


	4. Chapter 4

The girl who stood next to me didn't even seem interesting in who I was, just the thing called the Red Spirit. Her gaze was soft but cruel, it kinda reminded me of the river. It looked so welcoming, but it was deadly inside...  
"Would you like to explain little girl?" The judge sighed. The girl frowned and then raised her head.  
"I'm not a little girl, the name's Aoko, and I'm a Seeker!" She said angrily. The judge rolled his eyes and motioned with his hand for her to continue.  
"The Red Spirit is the power to control darkness, light, and dim light. It's basically the power to control any other power..." She paused. I blinked in surprise, I had THAT power? I didn't seem real, I never got good grades in school, I was a horrible sports dude, and I probably couldn't get a girl for my life. Aoko seemed to be deep in thought, maybe she forgot something or who knows.  
"Oh ya! The Red Spirit's eyes glow when their used to!" She exclaimed, smiling like she just won a championship.  
"Exactly, which is why we can't trust him with the Red Spirit. He's to reckless, cunning and careless. He should be locked up where he can never cause any trouble!" The judge commented. Aoko glanced at me, then raised her hand.  
"Or you could train him! He would be a weapon for the Dark Lands!" She said abruptly. The people eyed each other in the room warily, honestly my brain was shut off from the exhaustion and the blood dripping out of my face so I really had no heck of a clue what they were talking about.  
"And who would train such a powerful spirit?" A man called.  
"Yes, who?" Another man called.  
Aoko turned back to all of them, then raised her head, closed her eyes and smirked.  
"I would!"  
Her voice echoed around the room, you could probably hear a pin-drop if you tried. When I glanced at her she was still in the same pose, then in the spur of the moment the room burst out laughing. Aoko frowned and lowered her head. I blinked in surprise, it wasn't that abnormal, sometimes Seekers would train other Seekers. Or maybe Aoko had a reputation I didn't know about...  
"And how exactly would you do THAT ?" The judge was in tears himself, which for some reason ticked me off cause it wasn't THAT funny.  
"Your honor I can prove it! Just release him to me!" Aoko begged, her eyes starting to sparkle. The judge glanced around the room, all of the faces were doubtful, some still bewildered from the laughing. The judge hesitated for about a minute, then nodded warily. Aoko let out a squeal of delight and hugged me. I stared into her face, I had no clue who she was, but yet she wanted to train me? I twitched me arm, which made her get off of me. Aoko nodded quickly and then grabbed me hand and ran out of the court room with me giggling. Dubiously I followed her, first of all, I had no clue who she was, what she was going to do, or even what the heck she was doing right now. After a few minute walked she stopped and took a wipe out of her pocket.  
"Here, your face is bleeding." She sighed, wiping the blood away. She then twirled a key and took off my handcuffs, I could almost hear my hands sigh in relief...  
"Ok first let's make sure you get some rest Spirit boy-"  
"My name is Shinto..."  
"I know! I just like that nickname!"  
"I'd prefer Shinto over Spirit boy..." I frowned. She nodded, then guided me to her apartment. It was a lot like mine, except a bit different in some odd way...  
A bunk bed sat in the corner by a window, next to that were two bean bags facing a flat screen TV. Behind that was a table with four chairs, and a picture of a glowing red gem. By the door entrance stood a coat rack, and a door, which most likely led to the bathroom or kitchen. Aoko stepped in and sank down into the blue bean bag.  
"Well don't be shy! Come on!" She called. I nodded, taking off my shoes I cautiously walked over. I sat down in an orange bean bag. Aoko quickly turns on a TV program called Myth-busters or something. We watched it for awhile, then Aoko got up and went into the kitchen. A few minutes later she brought out soup. I glared at it, nothing had smelled so good, or maybe I was just so tired and hungry that anything at this point smelled good. When she handed it to be I dug in, and it was gone within a few seconds. Then I noticed Aoko was glaring at me and I stopped.  
"Dear lord you inhaled that!" She gasped. I burped, then blushed in embarrassment. Aoko rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.  
"Why don't you go to bed? I know your tired from your river escape." She grinned. I nodded enthusiastically and jumped onto the bottom bunk, crawled under the covers, and the next thing I knew I was asleep...


	5. Chapter 5

When I awoke the next morning my nostrils were overwhelmed by the smell of bacon and sausage, I swear I thought I was in heaven. And after a tiring day, and a restless sleep, that was the best thing to wake up to EVER. I blinked open my eyes and peeked out from the covers, just as I had yesterday morning in my own bed. I shifted my legs so I could crawl out of the bed without doing a face plant on the ground. Once I was out I stretched and yawned. I walked towards the kitchen where Aoko was wearing a white chef's hat and stirring eggs on a pan.  
"Great hippapontoes(A word I made up when I was 5) this smells good..." I murmured. Suddenly Aoko screamed and jerked upward, the eggs in the pan went flying and landed on the floor. I blinked and then rubbed my neck.  
"Uh h...sorry?" I quirked. Aoko flashed a glance at me then carefully picked it up with a fork. I opened my mouth to ask if she was alright but she only threw me a towel. I expected her to say something like, 'You have the red spirit, and I get to train you, wow!', or 'This breakfest is for you!'.  
Instead I was greeted by;  
"Go shower, you smell like Black River..." She told me, returning to her cooking. I glanced down at the towel and shrugged. Then turned around and walked to the bathroom.

After I was done I quickly put on the towel and walked out. Aoko stared at me and then wrinkled her nose.  
"Go put some clothes on!"  
"What clothes..."  
"I washed your clothes when you were in the shower, what else?" She growled. I rolled my eyes and walked to the counter, quickly running out of the room I threw on my clothes and then leaned against the wall in the kitchen. In another five minutes Aoko threw two pieces of bacon, four sausage links, and one scrambled egg onto a plate and handed it to me. When I began eating Aoko began to speak.  
"Sorry being a bit short earlier, I hadn't woken up yet..." She sighed. I nodded quickly and them practically inhaled my bacon, it was so freakin good...  
"Err thats ok. So what about my training-"  
"Later."  
"What will we be-"  
"Don't ask questions, you'll see." She smirked and gave me a raep face...  
I shrugged and ate my breakfast quietly, then suddenly Aoko burst out talking like she was just acting cool before.  
"So first we'll try using your powers on some training equipment, then we'll try making you use it as a cat, but first we'll make you control the Black River-"  
"Wait- I don't even know how to use my 'powers' yet..."  
"You'll learn!" She sounded a bit TOO confident...  
I sighed warily, then facedesked. Some how I felt this was going to be a long, gruesome, tiring, day..


	6. Chapter 6

I quickly followed Aoko out the door, her pace was brisk and steady, as if she needed to be somewhere on time. I hurried next to her and blinked. Aoko seemed irritated, I wasn't sure why but her eyes burned with frustration. After walking for maybe ten minutes I finally spoke up.  
"Aoko where are we going?"  
"Where do you think smart-one?" She growled. I twitched my hand, I myself was kinda getting annoyed. I had no clue where we were going, I knew we were going to train but for what purpose? I was released a criminal, not because I was innocent. It bugged me I still didn't know what the Red Spirit was, Aoko had explained it briefly but it still made no sense. Suddenly Aoko stopped at a place I knew quite well, it was the entrance to Prism Woods, a forest that connected all of the lands. I longed to have a mission in my hands, to run through the gate to another land to spy, the truth heart of a Seeker. I felt a tap on my shoulder, and I turned my head to meet Aoko's harsh gaze.  
"Look, I just want you to go into the woods and bring back some berries. Thats it, got it?" She told me. I frowned, collecting berries? That was no job! I looked into the dense undergrowth, I didn't even know berries grew in this part of the forest...  
"If you going to become a true Seeker you'll need to know how to survive." She growled, I could sense a bit of humor in her voice. I hesitated for a moment, what she said was true, sometimes missions required sneaking into the most difficult places to reach. Sometimes there would be no time to stop at a McDonald's or whatever and you'd have to collect food for yourself. Aoko sighed and slumped against the wall and yawned.  
"Ill be waiting here.." She yawned. I sighed, I was still fairly exhausted and just wanted to collapse somewhere in the forest...maybe I still could. I nodded quickly and ran into the forest, I triggered my powers and I soon was a black cat. My paws guided me through the forest to a hollow log. The log was filled the soft moss, and some parts of it was decayed so some light shined through it. I purred and settled down into it, after laying there so a few moments I fell asleep...

My eyes blinked open in an empty place, I was dreaming. Red crystals floated around me, a bright red sky glistened like water and the ground felt like wet grass, except...it was water. I looked around confused, I had never dreamed something like this before...  
"Hello?" I yelled. My voice echoed like I was in a cave, I sighed and sat down. Maybe I would wake up soon...  
"You can't wake up unless you know how." A voice rasped. I jerked my head around, I couldn't tell where it was coming from...which was worse.  
"Who are you!" I yelled.  
"I can't even see you!"  
"Same here."  
"Whats your name?"  
"Shinto!"  
"What? Shinto? It's Ochtia!" He yelled. I stared into the red sky, why was Ochtia in my dream?  
"Why are you in my dream? Maybe I can't see you because of the red crystals..." I said.  
"Red? You mean Blue?" He asked confused. I narrowed my eyes, was this an illusion?


End file.
